Hobbies and Crafts Ideas | Collecting Hobbies | Home Hobby Ideas |
Page: North America Hunting Tips - How to Prepare for Hunting |
Planning your hunting trip, as a hobby and recreational activity
![]() |
There is something primal about hunting, which used to be done for
sustenance; now it's a hobby and a recreational activity for some. |
Let’s face it - hunting is not only one of the oldest pastimes known to man, but it was also incredibly important for human sustenance for thousands upon thousands of years. Since then, it’s evolved into a hobby that allows mankind to reconnect with its past involvement with nature. Through hunting activities, people acquire an incredible set of skills, as well as advanced problem-solving abilities via both practical and logical behavior. That’s why we’ve prepared some North America hunting tips for you right here!
Once you decide to go hunting in North America, you might be tempted to just pack up, throw some stuff into your trailer house - and drive to the nearest forest. But as most experienced hunters already know, good hunting requires more forethought than that. So, before you get your mobile home to its new address, you need to consider how you’ll approach North America hunting trips. So, first and foremost, consider the game you’ll be hunting. Just like humans, all animals also have a set of primary needs that can be boiled down to water, shelter, and food. And when you’re picking where you’ll go hunting next - this is definitely something to keep in mind.
![]() |
There is much more to hunting than being able to shoot straight. It requires
some serious planning, good tracking skills and being able to get close without being noticed. |
But where do you start? There’s no avoiding quite a bit of map work before you settle on the destination for your next hunting trip. You can start by printing out some county maps and having a look at the nearby landscape. But seeing as it’s 2019 after all - this may not be needed. You can just head on over to Google Maps, and see the detailed satellite imagery of the area. Plus, it’s great for hunting research because it allows you to see the same area in different ways.
So, we’ve established that North America hunting trips are great for those who love recreational activities that aren’t traditional team sports. But as you might’ve noticed by now, unlike traditional sports, even the most basic hunting trip requires a far greater degree of planning. Even if you know that you need to do some map-based research, you may not realize what are the important landscape features you should focus on. And while different hunters have different opinions on this, they’ll all agree on one basic fact - focusing on the local waterways is extremely crucial.
![]() |
Aside from being well equipped and prepared for your hunting trip, you also
need to know your terrain well and understand animal habits. |
Once you’ve got a map of the hunting area in front of you, see how the local waterways interact or come into contact with the roads or rural trails you plan to use for hunting. Over the time period of your hunt, you want to be certain that you can access the water on foot. Also, when you’re judging how well-connected the waterways are to the local roads, you want to strike a careful balance. On one hand, you need to make sure that the waterways are accessible, but on the other, you don’t want to choose an area too close to a road. That way, you’ll run into too many other hunters.
When you begin looking at the nearby bodies of water on Google Maps, you’ll also be able to predict what kind of animals you can encounter on your hunt. Yes, all of this may seem like excessive planning, but North America hunting trips are not a hobby for everyone’s personality - you need to be the right mix of adventurous and thoughtful. But getting back to water and animals - if you spot a pond or a lake, meaning a larger body of water, that means you can expect waterfowl, like geese or ducks. If you want big game hunting, you should look for a stream or a river. That’s where big game drinks their water and find most of the vegetation for their meals. Furthermore, such waterways also represent easily traversable routes for the animals.
You can already see why looking at the water is so crucial for the successful planning of a hunting trip. Really, when you’re scouting for the best hunting destinations, you’ll find no bigger environmental factor. Apart from waterbodies, though, you should also consider the local elevation changes, the different landscapes, as well as possible clearings and pockets in the wild. According to all of this, you’ll learn where to expect the bedding areas of different animals, as well as their food sources and usual trails.
When you’re going on a North America hunting trip, you’re definitely going to need to carefully study the animal that will find itself in your scope. Among other things, you’ll have to learn how and what these animals eat. Understanding their diet will be crucial for successful hunting.
![]() |
A good scouting tower will provide you with the ability to see your hunting
area well, to sit down and wait for an opportunity to hunt the animals you choose. |
Naturally, every animal and bird on the continent has a diet that’s specific to them. And these can vary even among animals of an identical species, depending on the geographical locations. That’s because different locations offer varying levels of availability of the same food sources. If you take a look at a black bear in one corner of the continent, you’ll find that it eats quite a distinct diet from the same bear in another location. Apart from that, you’ll realize that animals eat in different ways and dynamics. Many of them eat throughout the entirety of the day depending on the opportunity, while others eat only in the evening and morning. Understanding such intricacies of every specific species separate a good hunter from a bumbling one.